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Reports of an impending American-Russian presidential summit have been overstated, it seems.

Just days after Donald Trump announced he intended to confer with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the Hungarian capital - "in approximately a fortnight" - the high-level talks has been suspended indefinitely.

A initial get-together by the two nations' top diplomats has been cancelled, too.

"I don't want to have a wasted meeting," President Trump informed reporters at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. "I aim to avoid a waste of time, so I'll see what transpires."

• Donald Trump says he wished to avoid a 'wasted meeting' after arrangement for negotiations with Putin shelved
• Disappointment in Kyiv as President Zelensky leaves White House without results

The on-again, off-again summit is another development in Trump's attempts to mediate an end to hostilities in Ukraine – a subject of increased attention for the US president after he arranged a truce and hostage release deal in the Palestinian territory.

While making remarks in Egypt recently to commemorate that truce deal, the president addressed his lead diplomatic negotiator, with a fresh directive.

"We have to get Russia resolved," he declared.

Nonetheless, the conditions that aligned to make a Middle East success achievable for Witkoff and his team may be challenging to duplicate in a conflict in Ukraine that has been raging for nearing four years.

Reduced Influence

According to the lead negotiator, the crucial element to unlocking a deal was Israel's move to attack Hamas negotiators in Qatar. It was a move that angered US partners in the Arab world but provided the president leverage to compel Israel's leader Netanyahu into making a deal.

Trump benefited from a history of siding with Israel dating back to his initial presidency, encompassing his decision to relocate the US embassy to Jerusalem, to alter America's position on the legality of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and, more recently, his backing for Israel's military campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The American leader, actually, is more popular among Israelis than Netanyahu – a position that provided him with special sway over the Israeli leader.

Add in Trump's political and economic ties to influential Arab nations in the area, and he had a wealth of diplomatic muscle to force an deal.

In the Ukraine war, by contrast, the president has much less leverage. Over the past nine months, he has swung between efforts to pressure the Russian president and then the Ukrainian leader, all with little seeming effect.

The US leader has threatened to enact additional penalties on Russia's oil and gas sales and to supply the Ukrainian forces with advanced missile systems. But he has also acknowledged that such actions could harm the global economy and further escalate the conflict.

At the same time, the president has criticized openly Zelensky, halting briefly intelligence-sharing with the country and suspending arms shipments to the country - then to back off in the face of concerned European allies who caution a defeat of Ukraine could disrupt the entire region.

Trump often boasts about his skill to sit down and negotiate agreements, but his personal discussions with both Putin and Zelensky have not appeared to move the hostilities any nearer a resolution.

The Russian president may actually be exploiting the US leader's wish for a settlement – and belief in direct negotiations - as a means of manipulating him.

In July, Putin agreed to a high-level meeting in Alaska at the time when it seemed probable that the president would approve on legislative penalties supported by GOP senators. That bill was subsequently delayed.

Recently, as reports spread that the White House was seriously contemplating sending Tomahawk cruise missiles and Patriot anti-air batteries to Kyiv, the Russian leader called Trump who then promoted the possible summit in Hungary.

The next day, Trump hosted Zelensky at the executive residence, but departed without agreements after a allegedly tense meeting.

The US leader maintained that he was not being manipulated by the Russian president.

"As you are aware, I have been manipulated throughout my career by the best of them, and I came out successfully," he remarked.

But the president of Ukraine later commented on the timeline of developments.

"As soon as the issue of advanced weaponry became a less accessible for Ukraine – for Ukraine – Russia almost automatically became less engaged in negotiations," he said.

So, in a matter of days, the president has shifted from entertaining the prospect of providing weapons to the Eastern European country to organizing a meeting in Hungary with Putin and privately pressuring Zelensky to cede the entire Donbas region – including land Russia has been unable to conquer.

He has finally decided on advocating a truce along current battle lines – something the Russian government has refused to accept.

On the campaign trail last year, Trump promised that he could resolve the Ukraine war in a very short time. He has since abandoned that commitment, admitting that ending the hostilities is proving more difficult than he anticipated.

It has been a rare acknowledgement of the limits of his power – and the challenge of finding a peace plan when both parties desires, or is able to, cease hostilities.